MacIver News Service – [Madison, Wisc…] Wisconsin is quickly moving ahead with implementation of a key component of the new national health care reform plan, even though there is no requirement it do so for another three years.
Last year, Governor Jim Doyle (D) announced he would not run for re-election, but he is not letting his lame duck status stop him from moving ahead with the creation of a state-run health insurance exchange.
The recently-passed federal “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” requires states to set up insurance exchanges for those who do not have employer-sponsored insurance. The exchanges are not required to be operational until the year 2014, but Wisconsin officials are expending resources and moving ahead with procurement right now and by September will have a vendor in place to design the project.
The exchange implementation is being pursued despite the pending gubernatorial transition, the lack of detailed direction from the federal government, and recent polls indicating a majority of American voters actually favor repealing the controversial new law. In fact, Wisconsin’s Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen wants to join a suit to stop implementation of the Act, permission for which Governor Doyle did not grant.
State officials and policy experts discussed Wisconsin’s efforts at a symposium in the State Capitol Thursday.
MacIver’s Bill Osmulski reports from Madison:
Posted in News | May 27, 2010 | | 2 Comments
[...] three years. But Jim Doyle, Wisconsin’s governor, wants his state to get on board anyway. The McIver Institute reports on what, arguably, is a bad decision even for fans of a greater role for government in health care. [...]
If there is no money in the budget for this, it should be illegal. Maybe Van Hollen can put a restraining order on Doyle for spending money that is not authorized. Or does he have a slush fund that can be spent at his discretion?
Slimy SOB Doyle.